Average Joes and Janes might, might know a little bit about the Most Famous GMO viruses: Vaccines. And thats all fine and dandy for some of them to be anti-vax. They usually dont have to pay any direct consequences for their anti-vax decisions because of herd immunity. Whatever.

But we are getting to the point where if everything goes according to plan, getting infected with GMO viruses is going to be a standard treatment strategy for many of the 'hopeless' genetic and acquired disease we deal with today. Some might even be better treatments for diseases we can already manage. And its gonna be AWESOME! Not that there are not individuals who refuse life-saving treatments today for BS reasons, but it will soon be nearly impossible to be anti-GMO and not pay for that decision with your life.

This kind of cancer makes up ~50% of all brain cancers, it does not respond well to usual therapies (surgery, chemo, radiation), and has an extremely high, fast mortality rate.

We need something for these people, and it aint an organic muffin.

In this paper, scientists are trying a different angle. Rather than the GMO parvovirus, theyve manipulated herpes. In case you all havent noticed, herpes is a great anti-tumor virus. Its not a permanent infection like a retrovirus, and no chance of insertional mutagenesis (feel stupid giving someone cancer treating their cancer). Its got a HUGE genome you can scoop out and replace with therapeutic genes of interest. And its ultimately just herpes. If something goes wrong in a clinical trial, you put the patient on acyclovir or some other anti-herpes meds and youre set. Plus, herpes loves brains, so its a natural fit to try to use this guy to treat brain tumors.

These folks made some... DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUN... genetic modification of herpes to make it target tumors rather than healthy brain tissue.

They then injected this... DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUN... GMO virus into the brains of mice. No encephalitis. No infection whatsoever, outside of the context of a tumor.

They then injected mice with this virus at early and late time-points after implantation of brain tumors. The virus retarded the growth of the tumors, and some of the mice treated with the GMO virus 'early' survived until the very end of the study. The mice treated 'late' still died, but they lived longer than the control mice.

How are they going to move forward to make this treatment even better?

More GMO-ing, of course:

In perspective, it is also to consider the possibility of improving the efficacy of oncolytic effect by ‘arming’ retargeted oHSVs with cytokines as IL-12, GM-CSF or IL-21 in order to recruit effector cells and enhance the response of the immune system against the tumor.

More like this

Anti-cancer vaccines seem to be a burgeoning field in immunology (for example, the HPV vaccine) and what's more, they seem to hold much promise. A recent clinical trial at UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center has tested a vaccine (vitespan, trademark Oncophage) to glioma, a tumor of glia cells in the…

This is one of the cool ideas not included in the 1800 human gene therapy trials because its still in animal models, not humans:
Preclinical Therapy of Disseminated HER-2+ Ovarian and Breast Carcinomas with a HER-2-Retargeted Oncolytic Herpesvirus
If Ive said it once, Ive said it 1000 times: '…

Scientists all around the world are creating legions of genetically modified viruses to treat/cure human afflictions, from nicotine addiction to hemophilia (A and B).
One disease a lot of folks are focused on in brain cancer. Certainly not a monolithic entity-- but scientists are working on…

Another day, another disease treatment strategy based off a genetically modified virus!
Prostate Specific Antigen Retargeted Recombinant Newcastle Disease Virus for Prostate Cancer Virotherapy.
This one is so clever, you guys. It is so freaking clever!
Some of you might know that sometimes, when…

This:
"We need something for these people, and it aint an organic muffin."

This statement, and more like it, are one of the reasons why I keep reading your blog-- your flair for the understatement cannot be understated.

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ERV-->TMZ?
No, this is an education and outreach opportunity, and I want to use it to the best of my ability as an HIV researcher.
1-- I am so glad Charlie Sheen got tested for HIV. Most people who should be, dont, because even faced with a treatable, deadly disease, denial is *incredibly*…

April 7, 2010:
Using HSV-1 to cure metastatic melanoma
May 26, 2015:
WHOOOO!!!!! GMO HSV-1 vs Cancer
October 27, 2015:
FDA approves first-of-its-kind product for the treatment of melanoma
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Melanoma, one type of skin cancer, is the…

Theyre figuring out what the heck is going on in the saga of ERVs and ALS!
2011:
ERVs and ALS
2015:
Human endogenous retrovirus-K contributes to motor neuron disease
1-- Of the many ERVs in your genome, the ones they found activated in the brains of people with ALS are HERV-Ks, at two positions:…

AHHH!!!
2011-- FreeOK, I give a talk vaccines, including a bit on herd immunity, and why it is important for everyone, including those of us who are not immunocompromised.
2013-- Started a new job! Had a ton of bloodwork done to get baseline readings, just in case I get exposed to another pathogen…

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As I write this, I'm told that there are eleven water cannon vehicles heading to the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, to attempt to cool down nuclear material that is exposed and exuding (I dare not use the word "leaking" lest I be thought an alarmist) radiation at a rate that seems to be as alarming to the engineers and nuclear experts on the scene as it is assuaging to…

Prepare yourself.
The Te Papa Museum of New Zealand has a new specimen locked in a vault: a colossal squid that will be thawed and dissected (they think!) on streaming video.
Here is the necromantic chamber.
Wait! No protective runes, no array of emergency thuribles, no pentagram, no mysterious idols of jade and obsidian? This may not go well.